It is well known to employ pins or nails for the purpose of attempting to stabilize certain types of fractures, for example, comminuted or complex fractures which are best treated by stabilization or internal fixation of the bone. Such pins or nails are described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,579,968; 2,998,007; 3,433,220 and 3,439,671. However, the pins which are illustrated for example in the aforementioned '968 patent, although providing for connection of the broken pieces of bone, do not provide for rotational stability because of their rod-like construction. In addition, most of these known nails or pins do not provide for any securement of the same to a portion of the bone.
In an attempt to overcome the above-identified limitations of the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,863 discloses an elongated configured prosthetic nail which is flat along the length and has two upturned end portions. However, the nail according to the '863 patent is not appropriate for use in bones where the intramedullary canal is not of a generally cylindrical nature or constant cross-section along its length. In particular, such nail cannot be satisfactorily used in the humerus bone of the human body since the humerus has a region which is varyingly elliptical in cross section at the junction of the middle and distant thirds of the humeral bone. Thus, although the nail of the '863 patent may be useful for the femur, it would not be satisfactory for use in the humerus or like bones which have an elliptical or varying elliptical configuration in cross section along the length of the bone.